Sir Lenny Henry wrote to Sonny, eight, thanking him for his "brilliant idea".

Reece was bullied at school, leaving him with depression and anxiety, but now he's helping others.

Shropshire Star

Here are some of the stories on the Shropshire Star website:

• No Covid patients in intensive care at Shropshire's two main hospitals for 'first time in over a year', external
• Some visitors allowed at Shropshire hospital as rules ease next week, external
• Row over rotting windows on Telford housing estate, external

An off-duty firefighter has been praised after helping to save a child who was trapped inside a house.

Russ Jones rushed to a blaze at a house on Farren Road in Northfield, Birmingham on Thursday.

There, he discovered the occupant's son was missing inside.

After spotting a curtain moving in the front room, he found the boy lying on the floor by a front room window, and smashed the glass with a rock to enable him to lean in and pull the boy to safety.

Image source, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service

The boy was treated for minor injuries by West Midlands Ambulance colleagues and then transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

The fire has since been found to have started accidentally

Mr Jones, who has been a firefighter for 24 years, said: "As soon as I saw the fire and was told a young child missing in the property, I had to do something.

"Without my firefighting kit there it was too dangerous for me to enter the property, so I had to find a way of trying to locate the boy and rescue him. I’m just so grateful I did and that he is OK."

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Teenage fly-half Fin Smith will become the youngest player to start a Premiership match for Worcester Warriors in tomorrow's trip to Bath.

The 18-year-old came off the bench against Gloucester three weeks ago and is one of nine changes from the London Irish defeat.

Image source, Getty Images

Centre Will Butler will be making his first Premiership appearance for six months and Joe Morris is starting for the first time at tighthead prop.

Chris Ashton returns to the wing after passing head injury protocols and scrum-half Francois Hougaard, who will join Wasps next season, is on the bench alongside returning Scotland international Cornell du Preez and loan signing Maks van Dyk.

The British car is now considered a classic, sought after across the world.

Residents say an odour from a landfill site in Staffordshire is causing them to feel ill.

Worcester News

Here are some of the stories on the Worcester News website:

• Police find 150 cannabis plants at Worcester house after tip off, external
• Some bookings for Covid jabs to be delayed due to shortage of vaccines, external
• Family’s tribute to ‘kind’ woman killed in Worcester, external

Fire crews have been tackling a blaze involving a building and two vehicles at a business park.

The fire started at about 11:00 at the Tenbury Wells site, on Bromyard Road.

One person was being treated for mild smoke inhalation, the fire service said.

William Kingham, 15, died at the scene in Solihull on 23 November 2020.

Designs for a coronavirus memorial garden have been released by Birmingham City Council.

The council is developing a proposal to work with local communities on a series of gardens across the city, in recognition of how the virus has affected all parts of Birmingham.

The central feature is a pebble bed that would give communities the opportunity to write the name of someone lost in the pandemic on one of the stones.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Council leader Ian Ward said: "The last year has been a time of grief and heartbreak for too many people in Birmingham as communities and neighbourhoods right across the city have experienced loss and tragedy and it's important to remember and pay tribute.

"Our initial designs are an excellent starting point and will help us develop ideas in partnership with the people of Birmingham."

The convicted youth claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed Nasir Patrice in January last year.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Groundwater levels in Birmingham "will continue to rise" and potentially pose a flooding risk to buildings and graves, a council meeting has heard.

An overview of the city council's flood risk management work was heard at a meeting of the authority's sustainability and transport overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday.

Image source, David Kukadia

Along with measures being taken to address flooding along Birmingham's rivers and at other locations, it was told groundwater levels were likely to keep rising due to a decline in industry.

The meeting heard last year was in the top 10 lists for wettest, warmest and sunniest years for more than 100 years, with the June thunderstorms causing widespread flooding in the city.

Papers to the meeting state "significant flooding" was noted on Stratford Road, Golden Hillock Road and Percy Road, with flooding in Sparkhill, Acocks Green, Hall Green, Digbeth and South Yardley.

There have been repeated reports of flooding in gardens along Brooklands Road and Silverlands Close, Hall Green.

A 44-year-old man has been arrested following a stabbing in Telford.

The victim, also aged 44, was found with potentially serious injuries on Dallamoor in the Hollinswood area last night, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

Image source, Google

He was taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for treatment.

The arrested man was held on suspicion of GBH, police said.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans to build a new walking and cycling bridge in the north of Worcester have received the backing of a council's cabinet.

Image source, Google

Worcestershire County Council’s cabinet approved proposals for a new multi-million-pound bridge between Gheluvelt Park and the old Kepax landfill site at a meeting on Thursday.

Cabinet member for economy and infrastructure Ken Pollock said: "It is expected that there will be 400,000 walking trips and 100,000 cycling trips across the bridge [a year]."

The cost will be around £5.8m with £4m coming from the county council, £820,000 from Worcester City Council and £1m from the government’s Getting Building Fund allocated to the county.

County Hall has the final say but has been working in partnership with the city council. Cabinet papers say, if approved and subject to planning consent, the bridge would be built by the end of next year.

Birmingham Live

Some of the Birmingham Live headlines today include:

• Huge fire breaks out Taroni's scrapyard on Cheston Road in Aston, external
• Fears over police plan to identify school pupils as potential violent offenders using crime data, external
• 'Cold and calculated' businessman who strangled 'secret wife' to death jailed for life, external

More than 800 weapons have been recovered from surrender bins distributed across the West Midlands.

Knives, knuckle dusters, bullets and even a bayonet have been recovered from the 19 post box-sized containers, which have been placed around the region in an initiative by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

An extra knife bin is due to open in Coventry in the next few weeks.

Police are urging people selling goods online to remain vigilant, after con artists scammed West Midlands residents out of more than £125,000.

Image source, West Midlands Police

People who advertise goods on sites such as Facebook, Gumtree and eBay are being urged to take extra care before handing over items.

It's amid ongoing fraud reports in the last six months, mainly involving high-value goods such as watches and mobiles, West Midlands Police said.

At a meeting someone will inspect an item and agree to pay for it via bank transfer, although a fraudulent cheque will be paid into the victim's account with the funds showing as pending.

The victim will hand over goods thinking a payment has been completed, but the cheque will later bounce back unpaid. Det Con Edward Spokes said: "Anyone selling goods online should check with their banks that any payments have cleared their accounts before handing over goods.

"Funds shown as pending in the account do not necessarily mean that the payment has been completed."

The government announces first stages of plans to get superfast broadband to the majority of UK homes.

"Good progress" is being made by crews tackling a fire at a recycling centre, the fire service has said.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

About 100 tonnes of scrap metal is on fire at the scene on Cheston Road in Aston, Birmingham.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

Firefighters have prevented it from spreading and the incident is to be scaled down shortly, the service tweeted. , external

Cheston Road and Thimble Mill Lane have been closed during the incident.

At it's height, smoke could be seen billowing from the site.

Image source, Jack Sherriff